Thanks to the Homu Sword Saint, my relationship with my father—a relationship I had thought would last a lifetime without us ever properly facing each other or having a real conversation—was able to recover at a remarkable pace.
As we talked, we came to understand not only how deeply we had misunderstood each other all this time, but also one another’s likes and dislikes.
These were things I should have realized much earlier... but I was truly happy that, even now, I could still do something so ordinary.
Yes. This time I have now is more precious to me than anything else.
Oh, and for the record, I meet with the Homu Sword Saint around two or three times a week.
The reason is the same as what I asked of the Homu Sword Saint back then: to train myself.
Now that my relationship with my father had improved, I could have asked whether I should request that training from him instead of the Homu Sword Saint. But unlike when I was little, I knew very well just how busy my father was, so I could not bring myself to ask that of him.
That was why the Homu Sword Saint was such an excellent opponent—and practically a teacher—for honing my swordsmanship, which had stagnated.
True to someone who bore the title of Sword Saint, he trained me in practical combat, demonstrating not only the Hokushin Itto-ryu I used but all kinds of sword styles. Thanks to him, my swordsmanship, whose progress had been slow for quite some time, improved so drastically that I could plainly feel the difference.
"By the way, Homu Sword Saint."
[What is it?]
"You seem a little taller somehow. Am I imagining it?"
[You are imagining it. My height has not changed.]
Still, there were a few suspicious things.
When I saw the Homu Sword Saint again after our first meeting, he seemed taller than he had been before.
I was sure that, back then, it had felt as though there was hardly any difference in our heights. But now, he stood a full head taller than me.
Of course, I had been too flustered at the time, so perhaps I was mistaken. Even so, it was enough to make me wonder.
Another thing was that the handwriting in his sketchbook was slightly different from the handwriting he used now.
How should I put it? The handwriting I saw now gave me the impression that he was imitating the handwriting of the Homu Sword Saint I had first met.
But since I did not have the sketchbook the Homu Sword Saint had used back then, that only left me with questions.
And because I had only seen him for a single day, there was every possibility that it was just my imagination, but I felt a disconnect between the Homu Sword Saint in my memories and the Homu Sword Saint now.
What was more, after that day, he never again used that technique of slipping past my body—a movement I had admired so much at the time.
I did not know whether he had used it deliberately then to catch my attention, or because he saw no need to show that kind of movement anymore.
Still, it was undeniable that his stride and the movements he made when wielding his sword felt different from what I had seen that day.
But because he remembered everything that had happened at our first meeting, I soon put those suspicions aside.
After all, no one besides the Homu Sword Saint and me knew about that incident.
"This time, you are taking a Hokushin Itto-ryu stance?"
[By using techniques from the same school, there will surely be things for you to observe and learn as well.]
"That is certainly true."
Though he showed me a wide variety of sword styles and footwork, what I wanted to learn was that evasive technique from back then.
But whenever I mentioned it, he gave off the air of someone troubled by the request and refused. That allowed me to draw one conclusion.
It was likely a technique forbidden from being taught to anyone but direct disciples.
Hokushin Itto-ryu was now one of the best-known schools, so if you searched YouTube, training methods and videos would come up. But techniques passed down only to direct disciples did not circulate around like that.
If that movement the Homu Sword Saint had displayed for me was one of those techniques, then I could understand his reaction.
Since then, I have not asked him to teach me that evasive technique, and instead have devoted myself to training.
It was regrettable that I could not learn it, but the movements the Homu Sword Saint showed were on a far higher level than mine. There was still so much I could see and realize from them.
Absorbing those things one by one and making them part of my own swordsmanship was enjoyable as well.
[Still, you are impressive.]
"What do you mean?"
[I heard that you trained alone after you were young, but to think you could use such unconventional footwork.]
"Thank you for the compliment."
[It is already so distinctive that it can no longer be called Hokushin Itto-ryu.]
"Is it really that much?"
My eyes widened at his generous praise.
After training together, there was no way I could fail to know how exacting he was when it came to swordsmanship.
[Yes. It makes me wonder how you could have worked so hard.]
"...I worked hard because I thought my father might look at me again."
As I said that with a bitter smile, the Homu Sword Saint flinched. Then he wrote [I see.] in his sketchbook and showed it to me.
‘Ah, there it is again.’
For some reason, I sensed guilt in that reaction.
‘Why would he react like that?’
Whenever I said something like that, he would occasionally seem guilty.
It made me curious, but only briefly. We moved straight into training, so I had never given it much thought.
Thanks to that, my swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds.
The Homu Sword Saint even said I possessed [talent surpassing Raiden Ryoma].
But I knew that was merely flattery.
After all, I had heard that my father had already become an instructor of Hokushin Itto-ryu at an age younger than mine, and had even created new techniques.
So even if I had trained on my own and become different from the original style, that was only because I had no teacher. I did not feel that I possessed that much talent.
Even so, I was happy to hear him say it, and so I could smile.
Yes. At least at times like this, I could smile.
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